I am going to do my best to attend this forum with my 5 yo, who had to listen to the horrible music being blasted by the students living at 2213 2nd St all last Saturday afternoon--we both learned a few new words! Howard also needs to address pedestrian traffic along 4th St and shuttle service throughout the neighborhood because vehicle traffic along these routes is going to increase as the tunnel project work increases next year, diverting traffic from 1st St, Flaggler, etc. I really hope the University is sincere in wanting to address such concerns.
Yeah I saw all the madness going on at 2213 2nd st on Saturday. I called the police too, hope you did too. Couldn't believe they were doing this in the middle of the day
Congratulations to HU Student Affairs for reviewing Code of Conduct with Students and having MPD address the law that ALL, including college students must abide. The meeting should be simple, abide by both and be good HU ambassadors. Bloomingdale home owners want a return to peace and decorum and an end to extremely loud music, inconsiderate student renters and rowdy party goers.
A community meeting, while seemingly laudable, suggests that there is some level of "misunderstanding" between long-time Bloomingdale residents and Howard University students. In our specific situation, the facts are clear. Our HU student neighbors have held large parties where fights between students have broken out and multiple arrests have been made. They also regularly engage in more "routine" disturbances (extremely loud music, incessant visitor traffic at all hours). More to the point, Bloomingdale is experiencing a rash of problems directly attributable to a specific group. Howard U should view this as an opportunity to resolve this problem without attempting to pass it off as a mere "misunderstanding between neighbors." In the mean time, Bloomingdale's residents will continue to call the police when violence, illegal drug use and disruptive behavior occur.
Your completely right on this. I don't really care what happens at this meeting as long as the school understands that this neighborhood is going to continue to call the police and report all illegal activity including noise and other disruptive behaviors. There is no misunderstanding on that with me. What I want to hear mostly from HU is that when their students are arrested or found to be disrupting this neighborhood there are going to be consequences at the school via suspension, expulsion or some sort of disciplinary action
I work that Wed evening or I'd go to the meeting to complain. I live on Adams St NW and I am SICK OF picking up the empty soda cans and bottles and fast food wrappers these students are dumping on the sidewalks with abandon. Have they not heard of recycling cans and bottles? Do they think there is maid service for their food wrappers? And how about keeping their voices down when they go home or go to a party so I don't have to hear bad language and stupid stories at 1 AM when we're trying to sleep..
I attended. I commend the University and its organizers for bringing this together and making an effort. Where to start. First thing to mention is there were somethings brought to my attention that surprised me. HU has no formal freshman orientation. That means there is no structured manner in which to get information out the freshmen to let them know about how they should behave in the community and what the consequences will be. That seemed like something they plan on addressing in the near future. There was mention of a fine for students who violate the student code of conduct. This was not well received by the students attending. It isn't in the planning yet but it is something the administration is certainly considering implementing. I got a sense they may do this because they may have no other option or it may be a last ditch effort to control the problem. I was really disappointed by the number of residents that showed up. Hardly anyone in the neighborhood. Residents were out numbered easily 2:1 by students. I certainly got a sense that the university is trying to do something. They may not have much in their arsenal to do anything right now but they are certainly building it up to be able to. I learned that HU's goal is to have all students living on campus eventually. They are making strides to do just that with the 2 new buildings going up now. There were some outrageous notions put up at the meeting. One woman, can't remember her name, who is an ANC rep by the way thought the solution was to buy up Ledroit and Bloomingdale homes. If HU brought up all these homes the problem would be eliminated. One guy got really angry about this but I just had to laugh. If HU has that kind of money then they wouldn't be in the news now about financial issues. One girl put a definite racial slant on everything. She was young and a student so you can't take her serious. Her complaint was the gentrification and that that was the source of all the problems. She didn't have the courage to stand up in the meeting and say she thought the problems were the "whites" but she certainly got her point across. After the meeting a lot of the university staff expressed disappointment in her naïve attitude. There was also an interesting kid who was at one time a HU student and is now a neighbor in the neighborhood who was very hostile and said the neighbors are just liars when they call the police on students. I also learned that a lot of the parties sometimes attract people who aren't affiliated with HU at all. They find out from friends and Twitter about the party and show up. The seems to be a part of how these parties spill into the street and really wake up a whole block. (more in next posting)
I think that if that sort of thing happens it is the responsibility of the host of the party to control. They should end the party or call the police themselves if they can't disperse the party. Unfortunately none of the students attending felt it was their responsibility to control the party. I was also surprised that they didn't get the safety issue that comes with random people off the street showing up at your house to party. Sometimes they come to party and sometimes they come so they can come back later when there is less of a crowd. The final conclusion of the meeting is that there is a lot HU can do to cull this problem and they intend on doing just that. They also felt the neighbors had some things they could do like trying to make the students feel more welcome in the neighborhood and trying to speak to the problem house residents first before calling 911. My thoughts on that are that if it is 2am and I have gotten woken up, I am not getting dressed and going out in the cold to have a little "chat" with the unruly students. I am calling 911 and let the police sort it out cause if they wake me up with noise at 2am they have broken the law and the appropriate authorities should be dealing with it not me. I personally am going to keep calling 911 when there is a disturbance. I don't believe in treating the students any different then anyone else who is occupying a home in this neighborhood. I believe the police, who were at the meeting, should enforce the law and it doesn't matter if your a HU student or not. The HU police don't have much say beyond the boundary of the school so MPD is the authority to deal with it. I found it funny that one student was against the HU police dealing with the problem. I would rather they show up then MPD who is going to treat you like anyone else and not take in to consideration your a student. MPD made it a point of saying they were going to enforce the law, period. The told what the law was on noise and the hours it is enforced and any other issues would be dealt with just like any other issue through out the city. HU plans on having another meeting because they want people to form committees and liaisons to work with the university and the students to at least address this as a teachable moment for the students about the neighborhood and about proper behavior in the community. One thing no one mentioned at the meeting and I think it is a good solution is if you have a problem house find the landlords and address it with them. There is a lot of pressure the city can put on them to do the right thing.
Thanks for sharing a meeting synopsis! I am surprised about the lack of freshmen orientation. Glad to hear that the students are getting the skinny on proper behavior and that MPD will enforce the law. Leniency due to student status does not prevent repeat actions; it tends to embolden and ensure that repeat behavior will occur. This meeting was held in part, because discussing the matter with student tenants has not worked. HU should definitely enforce the Code of Student Conduct whatever that is, fines and the like. It appears that many of the students did not realize that limits existed. I am sure that our neighbors are glad that these young people are attempting to get a higher education and improve their lives and those of others through matriculation at HU. What we oppose is their disruptive behavior that adversely affects our neighborhood.
Yes, thanks for taking the time to do that! I would have attended had I not been stuck in traffic (surrounded by non-tax paying MD and VA drivers--but that's another issue) going all the way across town and back (to get my daughter from her upper NW school--that's another issue too). I will say that when I attended Howard in the 80's we had freshmen orientation and relations with the surrounding neighborhoods was certainly discussed, but more as a safety issue--"WE" needed to be warry of "THEM," not the other way around. But that's when 1st & U was still an open air drug market and the UPO building was a run-down Safeway you knew not to buy meat from. I believe here are lots of people including HU staff and faculty who still see the neighborhood that way. They drive through (back to MD and VA) without regard for the $1 million+ homes or groups of playing children they're racing past. But I'm happy that Howard is trying to address it and will budget more time to make that next meeting because I'm still outraged by the students at 2213 2nd.
12 comments:
I am going to do my best to attend this forum with my 5 yo, who had to listen to the horrible music being blasted by the students living at 2213 2nd St all last Saturday afternoon--we both learned a few new words! Howard also needs to address pedestrian traffic along 4th St and shuttle service throughout the neighborhood because vehicle traffic along these routes is going to increase as the tunnel project work increases next year, diverting traffic from 1st St, Flaggler, etc. I really hope the University is sincere in wanting to address such concerns.
Yeah I saw all the madness going on at 2213 2nd st on Saturday. I called the police too, hope you did too. Couldn't believe they were doing this in the middle of the day
Congratulations to HU Student Affairs for reviewing Code of Conduct with Students and having MPD address the law that ALL, including college students must abide. The meeting should be simple, abide by both and be good HU ambassadors. Bloomingdale home owners want a return to peace and decorum and an end to extremely loud music, inconsiderate student renters and rowdy party goers.
A community meeting, while seemingly laudable, suggests that there is some level of "misunderstanding" between long-time Bloomingdale residents and Howard University students. In our specific situation, the facts are clear. Our HU student neighbors have held large parties where fights between students have broken out and multiple arrests have been made. They also regularly engage in more "routine" disturbances (extremely loud music, incessant visitor traffic at all hours). More to the point, Bloomingdale is experiencing a rash of problems directly attributable to a specific group. Howard U should view this as an opportunity to resolve this problem without attempting to pass it off as a mere "misunderstanding between neighbors." In the mean time, Bloomingdale's residents will continue to call the police when violence, illegal drug use and disruptive behavior occur.
Your completely right on this. I don't really care what happens at this meeting as long as the school understands that this neighborhood is going to continue to call the police and report all illegal activity including noise and other disruptive behaviors. There is no misunderstanding on that with me. What I want to hear mostly from HU is that when their students are arrested or found to be disrupting this neighborhood there are going to be consequences at the school via suspension, expulsion or some sort of disciplinary action
I work that Wed evening or I'd go to the meeting to complain. I live on Adams St NW and I am SICK OF picking up the empty soda cans and bottles and fast food wrappers these students are dumping on the sidewalks with abandon. Have they not heard of recycling cans and bottles? Do they think there is maid service for their food wrappers? And how about keeping their voices down when they go home or go to a party so I don't have to hear bad language and stupid stories at 1 AM when we're trying to sleep..
The weather/traffic had us running so late that we missed the meeting last night. Did anyone make it? What was the outcome?
I attended. I commend the University and its organizers for bringing this together and making an effort. Where to start. First thing to mention is there were somethings brought to my attention that surprised me. HU has no formal freshman orientation. That means there is no structured manner in which to get information out the freshmen to let them know about how they should behave in the community and what the consequences will be. That seemed like something they plan on addressing in the near future. There was mention of a fine for students who violate the student code of conduct. This was not well received by the students attending. It isn't in the planning yet but it is something the administration is certainly considering implementing. I got a sense they may do this because they may have no other option or it may be a last ditch effort to control the problem. I was really disappointed by the number of residents that showed up. Hardly anyone in the neighborhood. Residents were out numbered easily 2:1 by students. I certainly got a sense that the university is trying to do something. They may not have much in their arsenal to do anything right now but they are certainly building it up to be able to. I learned that HU's goal is to have all students living on campus eventually. They are making strides to do just that with the 2 new buildings going up now. There were some outrageous notions put up at the meeting. One woman, can't remember her name, who is an ANC rep by the way thought the solution was to buy up Ledroit and Bloomingdale homes. If HU brought up all these homes the problem would be eliminated. One guy got really angry about this but I just had to laugh. If HU has that kind of money then they wouldn't be in the news now about financial issues. One girl put a definite racial slant on everything. She was young and a student so you can't take her serious. Her complaint was the gentrification and that that was the source of all the problems. She didn't have the courage to stand up in the meeting and say she thought the problems were the "whites" but she certainly got her point across. After the meeting a lot of the university staff expressed disappointment in her naïve attitude. There was also an interesting kid who was at one time a HU student and is now a neighbor in the neighborhood who was very hostile and said the neighbors are just liars when they call the police on students. I also learned that a lot of the parties sometimes attract people who aren't affiliated with HU at all. They find out from friends and Twitter about the party and show up. The seems to be a part of how these parties spill into the street and really wake up a whole block. (more in next posting)
2nd part ---
I think that if that sort of thing happens it is the responsibility of the host of the party to control. They should end the party or call the police themselves if they can't disperse the party. Unfortunately none of the students attending felt it was their responsibility to control the party. I was also surprised that they didn't get the safety issue that comes with random people off the street showing up at your house to party. Sometimes they come to party and sometimes they come so they can come back later when there is less of a crowd. The final conclusion of the meeting is that there is a lot HU can do to cull this problem and they intend on doing just that. They also felt the neighbors had some things they could do like trying to make the students feel more welcome in the neighborhood and trying to speak to the problem house residents first before calling 911. My thoughts on that are that if it is 2am and I have gotten woken up, I am not getting dressed and going out in the cold to have a little "chat" with the unruly students. I am calling 911 and let the police sort it out cause if they wake me up with noise at 2am they have broken the law and the appropriate authorities should be dealing with it not me. I personally am going to keep calling 911 when there is a disturbance. I don't believe in treating the students any different then anyone else who is occupying a home in this neighborhood. I believe the police, who were at the meeting, should enforce the law and it doesn't matter if your a HU student or not. The HU police don't have much say beyond the boundary of the school so MPD is the authority to deal with it. I found it funny that one student was against the HU police dealing with the problem. I would rather they show up then MPD who is going to treat you like anyone else and not take in to consideration your a student. MPD made it a point of saying they were going to enforce the law, period. The told what the law was on noise and the hours it is enforced and any other issues would be dealt with just like any other issue through out the city. HU plans on having another meeting because they want people to form committees and liaisons to work with the university and the students to at least address this as a teachable moment for the students about the neighborhood and about proper behavior in the community. One thing no one mentioned at the meeting and I think it is a good solution is if you have a problem house find the landlords and address it with them. There is a lot of pressure the city can put on them to do the right thing.
Thanks for sharing a meeting synopsis! I am surprised about the lack of freshmen orientation. Glad to hear that the students are getting the skinny on proper behavior and that MPD will enforce the law. Leniency due to student status does not prevent repeat actions; it tends to embolden and ensure that repeat behavior will occur. This meeting was held in part, because discussing the matter with student tenants has not worked. HU should definitely enforce the Code of Student Conduct whatever that is, fines and the like. It appears that many of the students did not realize that limits existed. I am sure that our neighbors are glad that these young people are attempting to get a higher education and improve their lives and those of others through matriculation at HU. What we oppose is their disruptive behavior that adversely affects our neighborhood.
Many thanks!
Yes, thanks for taking the time to do that! I would have attended had I not been stuck in traffic (surrounded by non-tax paying MD and VA drivers--but that's another issue) going all the way across town and back (to get my daughter from her upper NW school--that's another issue too). I will say that when I attended Howard in the 80's we had freshmen orientation and relations with the surrounding neighborhoods was certainly discussed, but more as a safety issue--"WE" needed to be warry of "THEM," not the other way around. But that's when 1st & U was still an open air drug market and the UPO building was a run-down Safeway you knew not to buy meat from. I believe here are lots of people including HU staff and faculty who still see the neighborhood that way. They drive through (back to MD and VA) without regard for the $1 million+ homes or groups of playing children they're racing past. But I'm happy that Howard is trying to address it and will budget more time to make that next meeting because I'm still outraged by the students at 2213 2nd.
Post a Comment